The House and Senate are in recess this week. When the House returns the week of February 25, it will consider the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019 (H.R. 8), which would require any firearm transfer between unrelated, unlicensed individuals - such as participants at a gun show - to be conducted through a licensed dealer, who is required to perform a background check; and the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2019 (H.R. 1112), which would prevent a gun sale from proceeding if a background check is not completed within three days.
When the Senate returns next week, it will consider a motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (S. 311), which would allow doctors to be criminally charged and subject to civil liability if they do not provide medical care to a child that survives an abortion procedure. The Senate will also vote to consider the nominations of Eric Miller to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals; Michael Desmond to be Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service and an Assistant General Counsel in the Department of the Treasury; Andrew Wheeler to be Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; and John Ryder to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority.
On Tuesday, President Trump will sign a directive to establish a new branch of the military dedicated to space but instead of being a fully independent department it will remain part of the U.S. Air Force to assuage concerns in Congress. The presidential directive, formally called Space Policy Directive 4, will set the groundwork for a subsequent legislative proposal for Congress, which will have the final say over what has been a signature military objective since Trump announced his intentions nearly a year ago. President Trump will also welcome an official delegation from China for a series of meetings starting on Tuesday to discuss the trade relationship between the two countries.
